Shoot Day 2

On the second day of our shoot, Lyla and I made our way to Maryam’s house, where Abeer had already taken care of all the preparations. We didn’t waste any time and jumped straight into filming. The first scene we tackled was Cynthia entering her apartment, which was a key moment that needed some careful attention. To capture it perfectly, I filmed from several angles. My main goal was to align the table, where Cynthia would set her things down, with the rest of the space. It was crucial to get that positioning right not just for visual continuity, but to create a genuine sense of space. I had to ensure there was enough room for Lyla to move naturally in front of the camera without disrupting the flow of the scene. By adjusting the framing and camera angles, I was able to achieve the composition I wanted, ensuring the shot felt balanced and seamless as she passes by.

Once we finished filming Cynthia’s entrance, it was Khadeeja’s turn to become Lilith.This part of the shoot posed a bit of a challenge. The costume initially included a ski mask, but when we tried it on, it didn’t quite deliver the effect we were aiming for. The mask didn’t fit the character’s vibe, so I had to think quickly and come up with a solution. I opted to use my scarf, wrapping it in a way that achieved the look we wanted. It wasn’t perfect at first, but with a little tweaking, we created a transformation that was much more fitting and striking for the scene.Once we nailed down the costume, Lyla jumped in to work her magic with the makeup. She painted my nails black and used water-activated eyeliner to give my hands a bolder, darker look.

As I waited for my hands to dry, Abeer kept the vibe going by filming Lyla, who was playing Cynthia, as she entered the bathroom. The shot was pretty straightforward, but once we wrapped that up, we tackled a more challenging scene, the mirror shot. This one was tricky because of all the reflections involved. Abeer had to experiment with different angles to get the perfect shot without the camera or her own reflection showing up. We really wanted to create a seamless, immersive moment, so it took a little while to get everything just right. Abeer was patient and meticulous, adjusting the camera and framing to make sure the reflections didn’t break the illusion and that the focus remained on Cynthia’s actions.

After that, we really changed the mood of the bathroom by putting in a red RGB LED light, which created this chilling, horror-like effect. It ended up being one of the simplest shots of our project, as all Abeer had to do was execute a dolly-in shot.